A study published in Clinical Cancer Research found that in patients with unresectable, locally advanced esophageal cancer, the triple combination of radiation, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy made tumors more amenable to surgery, which was associated with significantly improved outcomes. "Curative resection unequivocally serves as the cornerstone for treating resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC); however, because of lack of symptoms and early detection, fewer than half of patients have resectable disease at the time of diagnosis," said Yin Li, MD, senior author of the study and director of section of esophageal and mediastinal oncology at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College. Given the unfavorable long-term prognosis of patients who receive chemoradiation alone—only about 36% survive at least five years, according to Li—there is a desperate need for improved strategies.
Immune checkpoint inhibitors, both alone and in combination with chemotherapy, are standard –of care for those with advanced, recurrent, and metastatic ESCC. They're also approved for adjuvant therapy after complete resection following neoadjuvant chemoradiation. But Li and his team wanted to investigate whether adding immune checkpoint inhibitors to chemoradiation can help downstage tumors and improve resectability.
To address this possibility, in a Phase II clinical trial, patients between the ages of 18–75 were enrolled at their institution to rec.
